The San Bernardino American

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - Three people have been charged in connection with the Wednesday night fatal shooting of 12-year-old Makiya Walls of Victorville.

Anthony Pitts, 26, of Adelanto, Danielle Cummings, 29, of Apple Valley, and Reyna Mercado, 28, of San Bernardino, have each been charged with one count of Murder and one count of Shooting at an Inhabited Dwelling.

A copy of the complaint is available at www.sbcountyda.org.

According to a Sheriff's Dept. media advisory that was released on Friday, investigators determined there was an ongoing feud between the suspects and victims, and the victim's residence was targeted by Pitts, Cummings and Mercado.

"Once again, we have an innocent child caught in the crossfire," District Attorney Mike Ramos said. "A young life taken away, far too soon. We can't bring her back, but I can promise one thing. Our office, our prosecutors, our victim advocates and all of our support staff, will work tirelessly like we do in every case to be the voice for young Makiya. She deserves nothing less than justice. We will hold these individuals accountable for their despicable actions."

If convicted as charged, all three suspects face a maximum sentence of life in prison. They are scheduled to be arraigned this morning at Victorville Superior Court. No time and location is available at this time. Once exact information is available, it will be posted on the @sbcountyda Twitter account.

WHEELING — On March 31, 2015, Perry Galloway Jr. was traveling home to Wheeling after visiting his fiancée in Columbus when Ohio Highway Patrol Trooper Stephen Roe pulled him over on Interstate 70 in Guernsey County for a sudden lane change.

During the traffic stop, which is documented in its entirety from Roe’s dashcam video, Galloway informed the trooper he was not feeling well. Roe insisted Galloway was in possession of illegal drugs, and called for back-up to help him search the vehicle.

Galloway, who informed troopers he was diabetic and had heart stents in place, was put in the back of Roe’s cruiser while Roe and troopers Scott W. Bayless and Gregory A. Mamula searched his vehicle. About two hours later, Galloway had a seizure while still in the back of the cruiser and died shortly thereafter.

Those details and others are outlined in a federal lawsuit filed earlier this month by Galloway’s family against Roe, Bayless and Mamula in federal court in Columbus. The family alleges the troopers failed to provide proper care for Galloway during a medical emergency.

Galloway was a former president of the Wheeling NAACP who spent much of his adult life working for the betterment of the Wheeling area.

According to police records, Roe said Galloway provided his brother’s name rather than his own when stopped that day and that there was a warrant for him on file from Belmont County.

Wheeling attorney Jeffrey Grove, who is representing the Galloway family, said when Roe stopped Galloway’s vehicle, the trooper insisted Galloway was in possession of illegal drugs. Despite Galloway’s insistence he did not have illegal drugs and that he was not feeling well, Grove said officers placed Galloway in the cruiser while using a drug dog to search his vehicle.

Grove said he believes Galloway was confused when being questioned and the dash video shows he had slurred speech.

Galloway told troopers he was a diabetic and had heart stents in place. They asked him if he was OK or if he needed a snack. They allowed him to have his bag that contained his medication. Galloway reportedly administered insulin and nitro glycerin tablets while in the cruiser. A short time later, Roe opened the cruiser door and asked Galloway if he was feeling better. Galloway responded: “Yes, lots better.”

However, Grove said Galloway was in the back of the cruiser for several more minutes when he began to suffer a seizure. He said when troopers turned their attention back to the cruiser, Galloway was sweating and complaining of pain. The video shows Bayless approaching the cruiser, saying, “We’ll get you a squad and then you go to jail after you have the squad, but you’re not going to get out of that, OK?” he said.

“Perry, we have a warrant for your arrest out of Belmont County,” Roe said. It was for failure to appear in a traffic case.

Galloway then appeared to be unconscious. Officers removed him from the cruiser, placed him on the ground and called an ambulance. Roe is shown tapping Galloway on the face and saying, “Perry. C’mon buddy, don’t do this” when he was on the ground and unresponsive.

When medical personnel arrived on the scene, Roe told them Galloway may have ingested illegal drugs. The ambulance arrived at 12:04 p.m. and left 10 minutes later for the Southeastern Ohio Regional Medical Center in Cambridge, where Galloway was pronounced dead at 12:27 p.m.

Grove said troopers are trained in CPR and other basic first aid, yet they did not render any physical assistance to Galloway. “When you watch the video and see the failure of those officers to provide any aid to Perry, it’s totally unacceptable,” Grove said. “They did not find any illegal drugs in his car or in his system after the autopsy. They were so wrapped up in finding drugs that they failed to pay attention to Perry when he needed medical attention.”

Grove said Galloway’s children were extremely angry after viewing the video and wanted to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen to someone else.

Some family members still cannot bring themselves to view the video. Galloway’s daughter, Chaundraya Goodwin, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the family.

The Ohio Attorney General’s office said it had not yet received a copy of the lawsuit and had no comment.

(CNN) Heather Heyer dedicated her life to standing up for those she felt were not being heard, her family and friends said. She died fighting for her beliefs and campaigning against hate.

"She was very strong in what she felt and she spoke with conviction," Heyer's close friend and co-worker Marissa Blair told Chris Cuomo on CNN's "New Day."

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

"She would never back down from what she believed in. And that's what she died doing, she died fighting for what she believed in. Heather was a sweet, sweet soul and she'll never be replaced, she'll never be forgotten."

Thirty-two-year-old Heyer was killed Saturday when a car plowed into a crowd of counterprotesters gathered to oppose a "Unite the Right" rally of white nationalist and other right-wing groups. Nineteen others were injured in the incident.

A 20-year-old man from Ohio, James Alex Fields Jr., is charged with second-degree murder in Heyer's death.

Heather's father Mark Heyer said his daughter had strong convictions and was passionate about helping people.

"She died trying to bring about that purpose," he told CNN on Sunday. "She was always passionate about the beliefs she held, she had a bigger backbone than I did," he said.

Her mother, Susan Bro, addressed Fields, the man being held in custody.

"This wasn't a video game, buddy," she said in an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper. "This was real people. There are real consequences to what you did. I'm sorry you've chosen to do that. You have ruined your life and you've disturbed mine, but you took my child from me."

"And I'm going to be the voice that she can no longer be. You gave us a national forum, and maybe I should thank you for that, but I can't. I'd rather have my child."

'We were against hate'

Blair said she was at Saturday's rally with Heather and fiance Marcus Martin in a show of support for diversity.

Teacher: Charlottesville car crash suspect discussed radical views

Teacher: Charlottesville car crash suspect discussed radical views

"We were against hate, that's what we were against," Blair told CNN. Blair wore a purple T-shirt with a picture of Heather and the words: "If you're not outraged you're not paying attention."

"This is our city. We work here. We live here. And we didn't want neo-Nazis and alt-right and racists to come into our city and think they could spread freely their hate, and their bigotry and their racism. We wanted to let them know that we were about love, that we were would overpower them ... We were peacefully protesting and we were just standing up for what we believe in... And that's what Heather stood for. That's why she was out there, that's why we were out there."

Blair said Martin pushed her out of the way when he saw the car coming their way. Martin was hit and sent flying through the air, breaking his leg. The moment was captured in a photograph that has been published widely.

People fly into the air as a vehicle drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017.

People fly into the air as a vehicle drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017.

Martin returned to the scene of the crash in a wheelchair Sunday night for a vigil for Heather. Blair calls Martin and Heather her "heroes."

"She spoke for people even if they didn't want speak for themselves," Blair said. "Words can't describe Heather, I will never find another friend like Heather."

'We need to start with forgiveness'

Mark Heyer said the only way to get through this tough time is to remember God teaches us to forgive.

"We need to start with forgiveness and stop all of the hate," he said.

Charlottesville suspect may have been sending a message, DOJ official says

Charlottesville suspect may have been sending a message, DOJ official says

Heather worked as a paralegal for a Charlottesville law firm, assisting clients through the bankruptcy filing process. The Miller Law Group said in its online bio of Heather that she was born and raised in Virginia, and had a wealth of knowledge and experience helping clients in the bankruptcy field.

Larry Miller, the president of the firm, told the Daily Beast that Heather had a big heart. "She'd hold their hand and make sure they would get the stuff in timely, that way we wouldn't have any issues," Miller said. "She was really good at that."

Heyer had just celebrated her fifth anniversary at her job.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe praised Heyer.

"She was doing what she loved," McAuliffe said. "She was fighting for democracy, (for) free speech, to stop hatred and bigotry."

A sign remembering Heather Heyer sits in front of a statue of Robert E. Lee in Emancipation Park.

A sign remembering Heather Heyer sits in front of a statue of Robert E. Lee in Emancipation Park.

Blair promised to make sure that Heather's message would live on.

"If you knew Heather, you would know that she loves everyone and all she wants is equality for everyone, no matter who you love, no matter what color you are," she said.

With its new Mission Statement, the United Church of Christ is committed to exploring what it takes to build a just world for all by simply loving God and loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.

To help the entire denomination not just speak those good words but live them out in tangible, meaningful ways we have also committed to participating in the Three Great Loves mission initiative.

This is, first of all, an invitation to every setting of our denomination to practice love of children, love of neighbor, and love of creation.

Every day across the life of the UCC - in congregations, through our Council for Health and Human Service Ministries agencies, in Conferences, at seminaries and historically related colleges, on army bases and in hospitals where our chaplains serve – love is freely offered and changes lives.

This is not simply a call to action, though. It is also an invitation to share the stories of the impact your love creates. I travel the world and the country witnessing your good works and hearing the testimonies of those whose lives are changed by your love. It is an honor for me to bear witness to, and to hold as a treasure, those good works. This initiative is an opportunity not just to practice love, but to create new ways of hearing across the life of the denomination the powerful stories of impact told by those whose lives and worlds changed because of what you do.

The Three Great Loves mission initiative serves as a way for us all to embody and incarnate a missional commitment to love neighbor and build a just world for all. It will be our concentrated effort to focus our reason for being on the calls to love and justice: two themes consistently raised in the sacred stories we find in our Scriptures and used to describe what is to be found in the heart of God and in the ministry and message of Jesus.

What would it look like for an entire denomination to focus its attention this way? We are going to find out.

Over the next two years, discover new ways to love children, to love neighbor, and to love creation.

When that love changes a life or your community, we are asking that you not keep that story a secret. Share it with the world. Our UCNews site is already posting stories almost daily (it is really hard to keep up with all that your commitments to love and justice make possible!) on the work you are doing and the impact it is creating. Write to us and tell us what you did and the difference it made. We will commit to curating and narrating your stories of impact. Go often to either UCNews or the Three Great Loves web pages and check out what your family in faith is doing every day.

Nothing short of changing the world as a fulfillment of our mission is what we are about here. As your General Minister and President, I have the joy of watching your love in action. You make me very proud.